Improvement in wire fences



UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER MERRILL AND JOHN O. MERRILL, OF TURKEY RIVER STATION,

IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WIRE FENCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 155,538, datedSeptember 29, 1874; application iiled August 28, 1874.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that we, LUTHER MERRILL and JOHN O. MERRILL, of Turkey RiverStation, in the county of Clayton and State of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and we do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the let ters ofreference marked thereon, which forrn part of this specification.

The nature of our invention consists in a suspended swinging` fence, aswill be herein after more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which our inventionappertains to make and use the same, we will now proceed to describe themanner in which the same is or may be constructed, referring to theannexed drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figs. 2 and3 are det-ail views of the brads O.

Our fence is y composed of two or more parallel wires,.A A, connected atsuitable intervals with vertical cross-wires B B. At suitable intervalsonthe horizontal wires A A are attached sharp-pointed brads G O, Inadeof wire or other suitable metal, and the points of which project inevery direction. Weights D D are suspended from the bottom wire of thefence at any desired intervals. This fence may be suspended by means ofrods or wires a a from tripods G G, arranged at any desired distancesapart. These tripods may either rest on the ground, or be insertedtherein, thus making the fence either portable or stationary, asdesired.

When cattle or other stock rub against this fence ever so slightly, itwill yield and come back again, when the bradsO will prick the animal,and thus cause it to keep awayfrom the fence.

A fence of this kind is cheaply made, and

can easily be put up and taken down, as desired.

For convenience in handling, it should be made in sections of convenientlength, and the sections may be united together by hooks or othersuitable means.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is l 1. A swinging wire fenceattached to depending rods a a, which are suspended from posts plantedin or placed on the ground, substantially as herein set forth.

2. A swinging wire fence provided with sharp-pointed brads, andsuspended by rods between posts planted in or placed on the ground,substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

3. A swinging wire fence suspended between posts, provided withsharp-pointed brads andV a series of suspended weights, substantially asand for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we afx oursignatures in presence of two witnesses.

LUTHER MERRILL.

JOHN C. MERRILL. Witnesses:

WM. WooDwoE'rE, J. W. SIMMONS.

